I shall always love you by Shilpa Jain

A treat for the seekers of love

This time I shall begin by thanking Richa Saxena for sending me this wonderful book by Shilpa Jain.

A historical thriller which transcends over the boundaries of time and keeps you glued to the book looking for answers. Shiv Sanyal has everything any young man could dream of yet he is restless ? For what ? His twin soul? Arjun defies all definitions of goodness and goes beyond his capacity to see to it that Shiv is at peace even if it means killing his love for Saloni. Nysa is not only the sculpture from Khajuraho personified but also the mystery behind which Shiv is finding his purpose of life.

What is it which connects the events of 11th century khajuraho to these people in quest of love? Read it for your own to find the answers to all the questions along with an understanding of what is love. What it means to be in love.  Specially notable was the depiction of erotica with such subtlety that nowhere did it become obscene. I guess only a woman writer can add this special effect......no offence to my male writer friends. 

An out an out treat could have been even better if a few things were handled differently. To begin with the cover page isnt reflective of what lies within. An image of a sculpture might have been better i feel. The later half of the novel appeared to be a bit rushed up....too much happening in too little space . It appears that either few more pages should have been added to do full justice to the story or the author could have planned a sequel altogether. Am I demanding too much? Last but not the least is my opinion that a couple of illustrations used at certain places would have added more meaning to the piece. Like on page 183 where they are assembling all the clues to fit the zigsaw puzzle to reach the treasure. 

Over all a wonderful piece as a debut novel. Congratulations to the author and the Publishers

A multi cuisine platter

What is life? A not so extraordinary question raised by the so called protagonist number 1 of the story, namely the writer Paul. You want to know when? At the end of the novel. This is not all. The answer given by an inebriated protagonist number 2 the hyperbole consultant Hazare is what hits you. The entire philosophy of life in such simple words! 

Also this multicuisine platter gives you a flamboyant Bollywood geek driver and a garage owner Raj, though the name is long enough to be remembered, along with a mystery man turned environmentalist Ben. So what are these four protagonists, mind it four, doing together? They have met by chance and heading towards Gir forests in Gujrat. Why? Because those who do not travel live only little. Go find out why? 

If you are looking for a witty read with humorous conversations, vivid imageries and a journey to transform you as a person then this book is meant for you.

Intrigued I was to have a look at the cover page and the title! Because my baffled mind couldn’t make any sense of either of these.... a typewriter?? The author saved my soul in the last but second paragraph of the book when Hazare told me that the title meant “nothing of everything and everything of nothing “

Shantanu Munshi I would really like to know from you what did you mean by all this? Pun intended 

Congratulations and God bless

Let the game begin by Sandeep Sharma

A historical thriller beyond expectations 

Can accidents be this exciting? My picking on reading Sandeep Sharma through his short stories on kindle and this thriller as paperback was an accidental choice but definitely with no regrets. 

A 160 odd pager with 35 chapters having some as small as barely two pages is a one sitting read because you won’t leave it in between. The plot which keeps on moving forward and backwards with lucidity is fast paced, nerve chilling at times and hits you with shocking revelations. 

An engrossing read with a storyline dating as old as 4000 yrs back and the highest security personnels in the current day India. Read on your own to find out who this Vyapi was? Dinesh Gandhi or...? What made Pratham and Surya to come together chasing the Chess killer? Was Priya a player or a pawn? 

As far as I am concerned my most favourite part of the book was the last four lines of the Epilogue 

The story is not over yet

The game is not over yet

The end of part one

To be continued soon

Kudos Sandeep Sharma and give me my second part soon

Hi
June 30th was a red letter day in my life. कुछ बेहद ही ज़हीन लोगों को सुनने और शायरी को पास से समझने का मौका मिला | इतना ही नहीं इस नाचीज़ को भी कुछ कहने की हैसियत न होने पर भी इतना सम्मान ! Check out the following link
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